You don’t win a war by leaving the battle ground. You can claim victory all you want, but the other side is going to say “we outlasted you”. Neither do you win a war by a ceasefire. At best that gives a “frozen conflict” like Korea. But “victory”? That’s when the other side gives up. That’s when you achieve your clearly-stated war goals.
The goals of Operation Epic Fury are clear. No matter how much CNN, BBC, MSNBC and all the rest may repeat “the war aims are not clear”; they are. The president and Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio have stated them repeatedly and clearly. Here they are, from my memory:
1. Destroy the Iranian Army. Tick.
2. Destroy the Iranian Navy. Tick
3. Destroy or decimate the Iranian ballistic missiles system. In progress
4. Destroy the military manufacturing systems, such that 1, 2, and 3 cannot be rebuilt. In progress
The projected result of these four aims>> an Iran that can no longer threaten the region and the world. An Iran that cannot build a nuclear bomb. The Iranian people an opportunity to rise up and build their own government.
These are clear aims. I buy them. So do the vast majority of Republicans and a majority of all Americans.
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| Republicans on Iran war and Trump |
I’m speaking here as one who remembers clearly the 2003 invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. In this household we were against both those wars. As Richard Clark, counter-terror czar, said at the time:
“Attacking Iraq after 911 was like attacking Mexico after Pearl Harbour”.
That sure stuck in the mind…
“This time it’s different”. Well, yes, it is. For a start the clearly-expressed aims are convincing. We were never convinced by the WMD excuse for attacking Iraq. We were not convinced by Colin Powell’s pivotal presentation to the United Nations. We were never convinced that “getting” Osama bin Ladin needed a full-scale war in Afghanistan.
Iran, by contrast does have uranium to 60%; it does threaten the region and the world with death and destruction; it has killed thousands of Americans and people of all nations, and hundreds of thousands of its own people; it does support terror proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis; it does have a ballistic missile program aimed at Europe and the United States. It does threaten the world with nuclear annihilation. Even as that would annihilate Iran itself. Its religious lunatics are apocalyptic millenarians, ecstatically happy to be incinerated in a theocratic mushroom cloud.
Let’s also recall that in Iraq we did not lose the war. The war was quickly and convincingly won. We lost the peace. The whole process of “nation building” was ineptly handled; it should never have been attempted. There is no such aim in Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
That’s called “learning from experience”.
Emily Scheader makes my points better than me, in this video, Grok transcript summary below:
Welcome back to Axis of Truth. I'm your host, Emily Schrader.
What if the biggest battle in this war isn’t on the battlefield but in your mind? This episode exposes how the narrative around the U.S.-Israel war against Iran is being actively manipulated in real time, breaking down what’s actually happening versus what the media wants you to believe.
You’ll learn how modern warfare unfolds in phases, how disinformation shapes public perception and why the reality on the ground looks very different from the chaos being sold online — plus what it all means for Iran’s future and the global balance of power.
The speaker addresses claims (including from Megyn Kelly) that Israel "dragged" the U.S. into the conflict with Iran. She argues that such narratives are part of a broader disinformation campaign. Schrader explains that the conflict is still in its early stages (described as "early weeks"), with clear phased objectives: destroying Iran's nuclear program, debilitating its missile capabilities, and weakening the regime's infrastructure and support networks.
She refutes portrayals in the media that the U.S. and Israel are "losing" or that the war is spiraling out of control, emphasizing that limited ground operations and strategic timing (e.g., no immediate widespread Iranian civilian uprising) are intentional rather than signs of failure. The monologue discusses regime desperation tactics, such as recruiting children and importing foreign militias, as well as specific incidents like a strike in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah-affiliated individuals and associated media personnel.
Schrader contrasts the "chaos being sold online" with on-the-ground realities, critiques how disinformation influences public opinion, and ends on a hopeful note regarding the potential for a free Iran and shifts in the regional/global power balance. The sign-off is along the lines of "see you right here on Axis of Truth."
(The full verbatim transcript is lengthy and structured with timestamps in the original video. The above captures the core content, themes, and key points delivered in the monologue. If you watch the video directly on YouTube, you can click "Show transcript" under the description for the complete timed captions.).
